Tuesday, 24 November 2015

With the problem of childhood obesity capturing headlines as never before, many parents
are looking critically at their children’s diets, giving greater
attention to factors such as fat and sugar content when choosing
breakfast options, packing lunches and planning dinners.

But
while many parents try to help their kids choose healthier between-meal
snacks, they tend to do so with a focus on minimising the negative (fat
and sugars), but overlook the opportunity to increase the positive
(protein, fibre and other nutrients).

The chief concern is that
most snack foods designed to appeal to children tend to deliver plenty of
carbohydrates, fats and sugar, but fall short on delivery of vitamins,
minerals and fibre. At best, this is a missed opportunity in the area of
child nutrition.